Chapter 128: The Natural-Born Chimera
"Before we discuss that matter, I find myself curious. How, exactly, did you get your hands on this particular item?" Mobius asked, her serpentine eyes fixed on him.
"Uh..." Rovel blinked, feigning a casual air. "Should I just say it's a special channel exclusive to us Descenders?"
He thought back to the Random Lucky Wheel. He couldn't even remember what prize had produced this sample, and wasn't there still one more spin waiting for him?
"...Fine." Mobius let the matter drop, her focus returning to the data shimmering on her monitors. "This Honkai Beast, which you've named 'Taiyi', is indeed a species I have never encountered. I would go so far as to say it's a type of Honkai Beast that should not exist in this world."
She began to explain her findings to Rovel, her voice a low, clinical hum.
"When you first brought it to me, those Honkai beast factors—the ones that resembled a miniature galaxy—led me to believe it might be a variant of Varuna... the Honkai Beast that Eden fused with."
"At the time, I specifically cross-referenced Taiyi's factors with Varuna's. I found a certain degree of similarity, which only reinforced my initial hypothesis."
"But I soon realized I was wrong. Wildly wrong, in fact. It was only when I, on a whim, compared it with Shesa's Honkai beast factors that I found it shared similarities there as well."
"From there, I ran a comparison against all existing Honkai beast factor data in my archives. The results led me to a startling conclusion: this 'Taiyi'appears to be a natural-born'Chimera'."
Mobius's words sent a jolt through Rovel. His mind immediately leaped to the Previous Era's most audacious and desperate undertaking: Project Chimera. That project had forcibly fused the genetic information of countless Honkai beasts into Kevin Kaslana's body, ultimately causing the Parvati within him to evolve into the monstrous 'Brahma'.
It was a miracle that should have been unrepeatable. Neither Dr. Mei, Mobius, nor even Kevin himself had truly believed the experiment would succeed. But it had. Through Project Chimera, Kevin had gained a terrifying power that far exceeded any other MANTIS.
And now, Mobius was telling him that this 'Taiyi' was a natural-born Chimera. The implication was staggering. In terms of genetic integrity and completeness, Taiyi was on par with, or perhaps even surpassed, the Kevin who had undergone the ultimate gene-splicing procedure.
That was why Mobius believed such a creature shouldn't exist. The data was counter-intuitive, almost heretical. It seemed to suggest that the origin of all Honkai Beasts lay within the sample he had brought her.
Whether it was the Shesa coiled within her own genes, the Varuna that sang through Eden, or the Garuda that gave Hua her fiery wings... their ultimate source, their genetic alpha point, all traced back to the 'Taiyi' now in Rovel's possession.
"You should still have the Honkai beast factors from Vishnu, correct? Take them out," Mobius instructed, her voice sharp with purpose.
Rovel did as he was told, retrieving the samples he had collected: a vial of blood, a razor-sharp wing claw, and a serrated tooth.
Mobius picked up the vial of Vishnu's blood, holding it up to the sterile light of her laboratory. The liquid within was a transparent, tranquil blue, like a silent, miniature ocean. Though it appeared unremarkable, it held the latent power to carry and consume all things.
"Do you notice anything?" Mobius asked, her gaze flicking to Rovel.
"...No." Rovel stared intently at the vial for a long moment before shaking his head.
"It's dead," Mobius stated, the three simple words holding the key.
The statement sounded like nonsense. Of course it was dead; everyone knew that. But the samples collected by Mobius's unique scalpel weren't mere biological tissue. If she just needed blood, he could have simply asked Raiden Mei to donate a sample for her experiments.
'Though... if Mei found out I'd volunteered her for that, she'd probably beat me to death, wouldn't she?' Rovel thought with a nervous cough.
But that was precisely the point. The 'blood'her scalpel collected was the very'Source of Life' of a being. Once extracted, it signified the absolute, irreversible death of the individual it was taken from.
Suddenly, the meaning behind Mobius's seemingly obvious statement became terrifyingly clear.
"Doctor... are you saying... that Taiyi is still alive?" Rovel's eyes widened, his mind struggling to accept the conclusion.
"Yes." Mobius nodded, a flicker of excitement in her gaze. "That rhythmic pulse I detected within its starry-sky structure... it's more akin to Taiyi's unique form of life, much like how a human heart beats while they are alive."
She set the vial down. "Not only that, it possesses an ability that is both similar to, and yet fundamentally different from, Vishnu's: Devouring Evolution."
"Vishnu's genetic code is actually highly unstable," she continued, pacing slowly. "It needs to devour other Honkai Beasts to complete its own genetic sequence. However, because the beasts it consumes vary, the genes it incorporates are always different. This leads to the phenomenon where almost every Vishnu has a unique appearance."
"And Taiyi can do the same."
"However, unlike Vishnu, it has no need to complete its own genes, because it is already the most perfect genetic sequence imaginable. Therefore, I would rather call its ability 'Awakening'."
She paused, turning to face him. "How should I put this? Think of it this way: all of these abilities already exist as latent information within 'Taiyi'. They simply lack a medium for activation. For example, the Pseudo-Herrscher blood you brought me last time... if I'm not mistaken, besides the Authority of 'Water'you just demonstrated, you should now also possess the Authority of'Wood', correct?"
Mobius's eyes glinted.
"After I finished your surgery, I took the liberty of injecting that Pseudo-Herrscher's blood into your body as well. You can give it a try."
Rovel nodded, a strange feeling creeping over him. He raised his hand, focusing his will. A tender green sprout slowly, miraculously, grew from the center of his palm, unfurling its delicate leaves.
"Just as I thought." A slow, satisfied smile curved Mobius's lips. Everything was falling into place, perfectly matching her conjectures and the data.
"Now," she said, picking up the vial of Vishnu's blood and holding it out to him. "Swallow this. Let's see what happens."
Rovel took a mental breath to prepare himself, then tipped the contents of the vial into his mouth and drank it in one gulp. Surprisingly, it wasn't unpleasant. It had a strange, slightly vegetal taste... almost like bitter melon?
Suddenly, a searing heat erupted in his veins. He felt the blood in his entire body boil for a single, violent moment, and a crisp notification chimed in his mind.
[Ding! Authority: Quantum has been successfully activated.]
Without a conscious thought, Rovel wished himself to be on the other side of the room. His body dissolved from his spot on the sofa and reappeared on the other side in the blink of an eye, the world shifting in a way he couldn't comprehend.
"It seems you've mastered the 'Quantum' power that Vishnu possesses." Seeing his successful teleportation, Mobius's excitement surged, becoming almost evident.
This so-called 'Awakening'appeared to have no upper limit. As long as the medium was sufficient to activate the corresponding information within'Taiyi', Rovel could awaken the Authority it represented.
Did that mean... with enough different media... Rovel could instantly become a god?
At the thought, Mobius's breath hitched, her breathing growing heavy. An unusual, feverish flush appeared on her pale cheeks. The 'Infinity' she had so painstakingly pursued her entire existence had just manifested right before her very eyes.
Her understander. Rovel.
She had a burning, desperate urge to test the upper limits of 'Taiyi' right now, to push it until she could see where its true peak lay.
"Uh... Doctor," Rovel's voice cut through her ecstatic thoughts, sounding strained. "I don't know what you're thinking right now, but... I feel like I've... overeaten a bit."
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